September 26th, 2002 issue #0134

We've heard the dire prediction: no water by December if current water usage rates continue. Daily, we're deluged with drought facts: Reservoirs are at 50-some percent; wells are running dry; car washes have been forced to close.
But what happens if we actually hit the bottom of the barrel, zero water?
"We can't let that happen," says Bill Brent, executive director of the Albemarle County Service Authority. "We have to take more drastic, more painful measures."
Yes, but what happens if they don't work?

Water. Like air or food, it's a luxury we don't think about until it's gone. Which might be soon. If you're like most people, you haven't ever had to give serious thought to that hot morning shower, or your green, glossy grass or even to cleaning up after a dinner party.
Until now, that is.